For the National Year of Reading, we are sharing a series of short conversations with people who are involved in promoting reading with young people. This could be a programme, resources or a literary event, and we’re giving them the opportunity to share what they do and how people can get involved.
In this episode we are joined by Louisa Farrow from The Federation of Children’s Book Groups.
The Federation is a national voluntary self-funded organisation whose aim is to promote enjoyment and interest in children’s books and reading and to encourage the availability of books for children of all ages, from first picture books to young adult. They have groups around the country, whose members include parents and carers, teachers, and librarians, along with individual and professional members, who all want to nurture a love of reading through the sharing of books with children. They have strong national links with children’s publishers, authors, illustrators, and all organisations who support their aim of encouraging children to enjoy, read and share books and stories.
The FCBG’s National Share a Story Month is running throughout May and is an annual event designed to celebrate the fabulous world of children’s fiction and to inspire a love of reading by sharing stories. This year it has been chosen as a featured event for the National Year of Reading
In 2026, the theme of National Share a Story Month is Once Upon a Storytime and will shine a spotlight on the joy of reading aloud and the power of stories to bring people together. This nationwide celebration invites children, families, schools, and communities to connect through books, storytelling, and the spoken word. More information and resources can be found here and there recommended read aloud books can be found here.
Ali
0:11
Hi, I'm Ali.
Katy
0:13
Hi, I'm Katy and welcome to Mostly Book Talk.
Ali
0:15
This is another episode in our series of short introductions to different charities and what they're doing for the National Year of Reading.
Katy
0:23
And in this episode, we are talking to Louisa Farrow from the Federation of Children's Book Groups. She's a member of their National Executive Committee and she leads on their National Share a Story Month, which is taking place in May and is part of the National Year of Reading highlighted events.
Katy
0:47
So welcome. We're really pleased to have with us today Louisa Farrow, who is the coordinator for National Share a Story Month from the Federation of Children's Book Groups. And she's going to talk to us about the Federation of Children's Book Groups and about the National Share a Story Month and what they're doing in the National Year of Reading. So welcome, Louisa. Do you want to just start off by giving us an overview of the Federation and also the National Share a Story Month?
Louisa
1:13
Yeah, thank you. The short. So the mission of the Federation is to bring children of books together and to bring them together for enjoyment and for interest. So, as part of that, it is a federation, and we work through a lot of currently 18, I think, local children's book groups. So we're the federation is the central organization which tries to support grassroots action at a local level.
Katy
1:47
Yeah.
Louisa
1:48
That makes sense.
Katy
1:49
And where are the groups? Where do they meet?
Louisa
1:52
So the groups are it's an entirely voluntary organization at every level, which is run by volunteers. So the groups are spread throughout the country. I'm part of the Birmingham Children's Book Group, but they go from Plymouth to Scotland. So they're not the coverage isn't totally even, and we'd like it to be more even, I think. So if anyone's listening and things like, I'd really like to set up a local book group, then do get in touch. And is it groups of adults or is it groups of children? So the local groups are run by adults for children. Right. So we put on local events. The Birmingham one, we do quite a lot in schools. So we take authors into schools. The federation itself runs a number of initiatives and events and competitions. Um so there is National Share of Story Months, which we might come back to in a minute. There's also the Children's Book Award, which is the only children's book award that's voted for entirely by children.
Katy
2:53
Yeah. So how do the children's book awards work?
Ali
2:56
So there's two rounds. The first round is in order to produce the shortlist that publishes very generously give us books which we lend to schools, to groups, to children around the country, and they read them and they rate them. From that, we produce a short list, and the second round of voting, in each category, children read all the books on the short list and they rank them in order. And then are there five of three categories, aren't there? Is it pitch three? Three categories. Picture book, younger readers and older readers.
Louisa
3:31
That's right.
Ali
3:32
Yeah. Cool.
Katy
3:34
And um can and if people want to find those lists, they can find them on your website, can't they?
Louisa
3:39
Yeah, they can find them on the website. And the second round of voting, for ranking the short list in order, anyone could get involved with that. The first round tends to happen through our local book groups. So we're a testing group in Birmingham and we basically drop bags of books at local schools and swap them around and collect as many votes as we can. So I think from we got between six and seven thousand votes this last round. So that's between six and seven thousand children reading a book that maybe they might not otherwise have read.
Katy
4:13
Excellent. So tell us about National Share a Story Month.
Louisa
4:17
So National Share a Story Month was one of those initiatives begun by the Federation just over 50 years ago, actually, to highlight that reading can be a social activity. That's how I think about it. So it's not always an individual activity. In fact, for children, the social aspect can be really important. It goes right back to all that, those books by Aidan Chambers and things about talking about books, reading aloud, reading with, recommending. So I think that's the purpose of National Share of Story Month. And each year we pick a theme. This year we've picked reading aloud.
Katy
5:00
Right.
Ali
5:05
Yeah. So for the national year of reading, then is what are you doing anything different or is it business as usual?
Louisa
5:12
It's being selected by the organizers of the National Year of Reading, as their May Drumbeat.
Katy
5:19
Right.
Louisa
5:19
But we're not doing anything wildly different because I think what we normally do is good.
Katy
5:27
Absolutely.
Louisa
5:28
But it's an opportunity to share it more widely. So share it. Yeah, that's what would be what we would like to do is to get it better known and get more people involved. As part of Share a Story Month, we always produce a book list that's related to the themes. So I spent hours and hours, happy hours, trawling through books and trying to think of which books would make really great read alouds, which books might people not have found before. I think it's very easy to think of books to read aloud, but to go back to the same old favourites. So I looked myself, but we're also very lucky because we have these local book groups. So I could go to our local representatives and say, which books have you read that you've really enjoyed? Because we do the Children's Book Award, we tend to see most of the new books that are coming through. So our members are quite well informed about what's been published. Our annual conference is really, really devoted to authors and what's new, what's hot, what's coming out. It's all authors and publishers. So I did turn for help to local groups and we'd compiled a book list.
Katy
6:39
Fantastic. How many books are on it? And are they for all ages or are they mainly picture books, or are you thinking about reading aloud at all ages? I'm thinking definitely about reading aloud at all ages.
Louisa
6:53
And so not just picture books, because I think that's a bit of a misapprehension that reading aloud means picture books. So there are even some graphic novels, graphic novels, but generally for younger children on that list. Exactly how many books there are is a good question because I'm not sure. I haven't counted. It was incredibly difficult to whittle it down, but I did think it has got picture books, chapter books, young adult books, graphic novels, verse novels, because I think that is important. Yeah, and verse novels will be sit really well on there, actually. We were talking about them. We interviewed Sarah Crossen with her new one. Yeah, that that's something to add into the mix as well. And there quite often can be for older readers as well. Definitely. I her latest book is fantastic. That's on there actually. I don't know if you've read it. It's absolutely cunning. And I will be on a chairing a panel with her actually at our conference. Oh, yeah.
Katy
7:48
Lovely.
Ali
7:49
Nice.
Louisa
7:49
Yeah.
Katy
7:50
Exciting. Is there anything else that the Federation of Children Book Groups does that you want to add in? And as you've mentioned the conference, that is is that open to anyone to come, or is it just open to books if your Federation members?
Louisa
8:05
It's open to anyone, actually. There's a better rate if you're a member. Okay. And if you did want to come, you might want if you're the sort of person we want to come, you might be the sort of person we wanted to join up as a member. But certainly it's open to everybody. We really want to be as inclusive as we can.
Ali
8:26
And where is it? It moves around, doesn't it?
Louisa
8:29
It moves around the country, which is part of the our history as a federation of local book groups, but this year it's in Reading. Next year it will be somewhere around Ipswich. We haven't confirmed the venue yet. The year after that, I don't know. We're still discussing. Knowing two years ahead is pretty good. Yeah. Yeah.
Katy
8:50
Very impressed with that. Is there anything that's oh see, you talked about how the National Share of Story Month is has been worked into the kind of national programme for the National Year of Reading. Is there anything else that you're doing special for the National Year of Reading that people should be aware of? Or is it very much doing what you always do, which is fine?
Ali
9:08
I probably haven't finished with Share of Story Months because there will also be competitions and blogs and things like that. But you can get all the details on our website. We'll also be doing National Nonfiction November. Okay. That's quite well known, but I'm not sure it's always known. That came from the Federation of Children's Book Groups. They originated that whole initiative. Right. And that will be past the year of reading for November. But in a sense, yeah, we will be doing so we will be contributing that. So May and November will be the months where we're trying to contribute. This is something you could do this year, which will stimulate enjoyment of reading.
Katy
9:50
I realise what we haven't done is we haven't actually said when the month is. So when is Share a Story Month? It's an important detail, isn't it?
Louisa
10:00
Okay, Share a Story Month is in May. And so the competition is to for events in May and to send a little account of that. And National Non-Fiction November is in November.
Katy
10:13
November. Yeah. That one we knew was in November. Well wasn't certain when National Share a Story Month is. So, in terms of people joining in, all of these things are open for people to join in, starting with the Federation itself. If somebody said, actually, I that really sounds great, I'd like to be part of a children's book group in my area. How do they find out about it?
Louisa
10:37
So on our website, you will be able to see where the local groups are. Yeah. If there isn't a group local to you, there's two possibilities. You can be a central member. That works particularly well for schools, I think. There's a central schools membership that's building. Or you could think about setting up a group yourself. Okay. In which case, get in touch though, because that's a bigger, that's a bigger level of commitment. And there will be people who will be there to help. Okay.
Katy
11:08
And so if there is one in your area, is there's then a way of contacting, is there a like a leader for each area?
Louisa
11:16
Yeah, there will be contact details on the website. And I think all our local book groups will be delighted to hear of new members, new volunteers, particularly because we're entirely volunteer run, we're always on the lookout for certainly in Birmingham, always on the lookout for new volunteers, new people who want to get involved.
Katy
11:38
And what are people letting themselves in for when they volunteer? So what does your average volunteer do? What's involved?
Louisa
11:45
So it really varies. It really varies by book group and it varies by what people feel able to contribute. They're volunteers. We can't tell people to do anything. So we have some members of or some volunteers. Let me talk from my experience, but it will be really different in other areas. Somebody who volunteers just to do the the accounts and be the treasurer. That's totally useful. Whereas others of us get involved in going into schools and dropping on book bags and maybe reading with classes. So I do quite a lot of that. Other people just come as members of the committee, as it were, of steering group members who can advise us who've got who so we have a local English advisor who just knows how schools are working. So I think it depends. And I think the groups are really quite good at using the talents which come their way.
Ali
12:43
And all the groups, sorry, I was sort of one nitty-gritty question on this. All the groups, because the Federation of Children's Book Groups is a charity. Is each little group its own charity, or are they just a kind of affiliated to? They're affiliated to.
Louisa
12:58
It's really complicated the charity situation. But if you wanted to set up a group, you're not really worrying about that. That's a head office. No, there are certain things we have to do, but we're not setting up a charity and going to having to go to the government, getting a charity member. You're part of the bigger one.
Ali
13:14
But yeah, that's because I think that can feel a bit daunting for somebody, but it's kind of a branch of it, isn't it? It's like a branch,
Louisa
13:20
yeah. So it is quite complicated and quite unlike other charities, but I think it's quite an important thing that makes it unique that it has got this local grassroots kind of network.
Katy
13:32
And so we came at it in terms of what the volunteer might bring, but what would the volunteer get out of getting involved? What what's attracted? What are what's the benefits of getting involved?
Louisa
13:42
Okay, so for me, what is better than matching children and books? What is better than being able to go and read a story in a school? So for me, I get a huge amount out of it from that point of view. But for other people, it's a social thing. We also have meetings certainly just quite relaxed and quite fun, and uh so the people on the committee become friends. So there is that social angle. And I think for a few of us, you this you'd get from any charity that feeling that you're doing something that's really worthwhile. Yeah, that that intrinsic motivation that that was really useful.
Katy
14:21
So and do you have to know lots about children's books to get involved, or is that part of the journey that that you're sharing those books with each other before you share them with the s Schools? Children?
Louisa
14:31
I don't think you need to know anything really. I think ideally you would be interested, because if you weren't interested in books, and
Katy
14:38
you don't have to be a kind of expert level knowledge, you could just have a a general interest.
Louisa
14:44
Yeah, definitely. Actually, that's another thing you get out of it, is especially if you're a testing group like we are, you just get to see all the new books that are published for children. And that in itself is uh interesting if you're if you like books. Yeah, until you become an expert, but you don't need to before you start.
Katy
15:03
Excellent.
Ali
15:04
And we just wanted to finish with what your hopes and any fears for the national year of reading.
Louisa
15:11
So it's interesting that I was thinking about it. What I would like to do was to be able to change the narrative so we became more optimistic. Yeah. I think that we're in danger of talking ourselves into uh uh talking ourselves into a worse disaster than there is, if you see what you mean. We're almost enabling a disaster by saying how difficult it is all the time. And then that allows people to allow children not to enjoy reading it. Let's us all off the hook. Of course, it's very difficult these days, and I think if you look around what's happening in our local book groups and in certainly in a lot of schools around here with people who believe in reading, that loads of children are really loving reading still. Yeah, it's probably what I should have said is it's in danger of becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Ali
16:12
Yeah, yeah. And something about you knowing the children and knowing what book they might like and having choice as well.
Louisa
16:20
Absolutely, which is why I think things like the book award agree, because you just see a wide variety, and the more you do testing with children, this is say in a context of a school where it's really hard as a teacher to know what every child likes, but by seeing a wide variety in testing with them, you get to learn about what they enjoy, what they like, what they don't like. And the schools that are doing that, as I say, places that are doing that really well, the children still love reading as much as ever. So, what I'd love for this year is that we could just be more positive about it, we could change that narrative to actually this is completely possible, but it depends on the adults around the children to make it possible. Yeah.
Katy
17:07
Very good. Very good. Yeah, I mean, there's definitely something about adults leading from the front and by example. Um we have had people talking about looking up their phones, which might also be on the agenda.
Louisa
17:20
I I think so, but I think that I I I I fear things that are punitive. Yeah.
Katy
17:26
Yeah. It's more I I think it's less punitive, and I think it's more about all of us recognising how much time is being sucked away into something that is just ultimately not very fulfilling or enjoyable. And that is it's just saying, is there not something better we could be doing? Or doing things properly, I suppose. That double screening and all of that sort of stuff.
Louisa
17:51
I guess that's right. I can be distracted by my phone as well and waste time. And but I don't think the way to manage that will be to take my phone and lock it away, because that would just make me angry and resentful and wouldn't necessarily make me read a book. So I think it's about partly modeling, but also if you can find ways to make people in not make people, you can't make anyone enjoy anything. But if you can somehow facilitate a happy experience with the book, any kind of happy experience, humans will want to replicate it, right? So if you're taking ice skating and you love it, you'll want to go ice skating again. Even if you've got a phone, you'll still want to do it again. Yeah. So just believe in it rather than stick. Yeah. But that's why I think things like reading aloud, just so go back to National Share a Story Month. That's why that's so powerful, because you can model enjoying it yourself by the way you read it.
Katy
18:55
Yeah.
Louisa
18:56
But also you can read to a number of people so children can look around and see other people enjoying it. And also you can't really be checking a phone while someone's reading to you. No, because that's so easily. Do you see what you mean? So I just think it's finding things like that. Finding the positive ways through.
Katy
19:15
Yeah. And challenging that view that reading aloud is just something you do to and with very small children, and that it's actually something that older children enjoy too, and indeed adults enjoy, and you know, that there are lots of possibilities there in terms of reading aloud and sharing that reading experience.
Louisa
19:33
I think so, because I think we also convey that it's babyish to be read aloud to, and then children are maybe a bit more sort of embarrassed about admitting to enjoying listening. But I think if we went back to the 19th century, that was how books were shared normally to all age groups, and I do think there have been clearly a lot of changes, frankly, many good changes since the 19th century. But I don't think humans have fundamentally changed. Humans have been enjoying listening to stories since prehistoric times. Nobody knows when those epics were and all the rest. Were actually came from. People have been sharing stories with something really hard. That we've somehow managed to put into a pocket as this is what happens when you're under five. And it's not logical.
Ali
20:35
Yep. That's a good way to end it.
Katy
20:37
Yeah, that's brilliant. It's been really great talking to you. Thank you.